Canadian tourist Brittney Schneider, 23, returned home Friday after she was charged with vandalism for spray painting graffiti on an ancient wall in northern Thailand. (Brittney Schneider/Facebook) A Grande Prairie, Alta., woman who faced a decade in prison for spray-painting an ancient wall in Thailand has returned home and says she is eager to move on from the ordeal. Brittney Schneider was vacationing in Thailand in October when she was charged with vandalism for her role in spray-painting Tha Pae Gate, the main entrance to the old town of Chiang Mai.…

SINGAPORE – The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is reviewing regulations and procedures, after a Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilot was caught in Australia for failing an alcohol test before a flight. “Operating an aircraft while intoxicated is a serious matter. CAAS is reviewing the regulations and procedures to more strongly deter such behaviour,” said Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min. He was replying to Mr Ang Wei Neng (Jurong GRC) who had asked if there were cases in Singapore, in the last 10 years, of duty…

SYDNEY/HYAMS BEACH (REUTERS) – Robyn and John Marlow own two properties in Australia – one in Sydney’s affluent northern beaches, which earns them a steady rental income, and a multi-million dollar, three-bedroom house where they live about 200km south. The retired couple, whose rustic home borders a national park and is only steps away from Hyams Beach – reputedly the whitest sand beach on earth – are worried by calls from the opposition Labor Party to remove tax perks for wealthy retirees. Just 30km inland from the Marlows, 22-year-old Luke…

The Cambodian-born legislator Hong Lim in the state Parliament in Melbourne, Australia. Mr. Lim is at the center of a battle over free speech and the reach of Cambodia’s authoritarian leader.CreditAsanka Brendon Ratnayake for The New York Times By Julia Wallace March 19, 2018 SYDNEY, Australia — Hong Lim, a dapper Australian politician who seems most at home walking the corridors of the colonial-era State Parliament of Victoria in a tailored suit, is not the first person you would imagine burning an effigy in a parking lot. But the Cambodian-born legislator…

PATTAYA: Police have charged an American who allegedly punched an Australian who died later in the resort town on Friday evening. While Jose Polanco Jr, 44, an American national, was at Ruby club on Pattaya 6 Road in Bang Lamung district, he saw Benjamin Robb, 43, an Australian national, argue with Roong-arun Sangsuwan, a Thai woman. Mr Robb then squeezed her neck and lifted her off the ground until her face turned blue, police said. At this point, Mr Polanco intervened and a dispute followed. Mr Polanco punched Mr Robb’s…

More than 950 Singapore and Malayians investors scammed in bogus property development deals, International Refund Association (IRA), are now actively investigating this company as of December 2017. K.C. VIJAYAN & ZAIHAN MOHD YUSOF, THE STRAITS TIMES Aug 14, 2017 06:00 am A victim lost $20,000, another more than $300,000, while a third pulled out his $50,000 in time. They were among more than 950 Singapore-based investors of a A$100 million (S$107 million) Ponzi scheme in Australia, involving 18 companies controlled by Australian Veronica Macpherson that were ordered to wind up last…

Two teenage boys were rescued by a brand new lifesaving drone in Australia while lifeguards were still training to use the device. The swimmers, aged 15-17, had got into difficulties off the coast of Lennox Head, New South Wales (NSW). A member of the public spotted them struggling in heavy surf about 700m (2,300ft) offshore. Lifesavers instantly sent the drone to drop an inflatable rescue pod, and the pair made their way safely to shore. John Barilaro, the state’s deputy premier, praised the rescue as historic. “Never before has a…

This image made from a video shows search and rescue teams in Hawkesbury River, New South Wales, Australia, Dec. 31, 2017. Australian officials say a seaplane crashed during a 20-minute entertainment ride in Sydney on New Year’s Eve, killing six people. Five of the victims were British nationals, including the CEO of Compass Group Plc Richard Cousins, his two sons, fiancée and her daughter were among the victims. The pilot also died in the crash. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull offered his condolences to the crash victims’ families. Compass Chairman…

The car which crashed into a classroom in Sydney. (Photo: 9news.com.au) SYDNEY: Two young boys were killed Tuesday (Nov 7) when a car ploughed into their classroom at a Sydney school, with emergency services describing “pandemonium” when they arrived. The tragedy occurred at the Banksia Road Public School when the car collided with a wooden classroom building not long after lessons started. “The vehicle continued inside the building and tragically we have had a number of young children injured as a result,” said New South Wales Assistant Commissioner Stewart Smith.…

Australia’s main scientific agency said on Wednesday it believed with “unprecedented precision and certainty” that a missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft crashed into the sea northeast of an area scoured in a fruitless two-year underwater search. image: data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw== The shadow of a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion maritime search aircraft can be seen on low-level clouds as it flies over the southern Indian Ocean looking for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 March 31, 2014. REUTERS/Rob Griffith/Pool/Files SYDNEY/KUALA LUMPUR: Australia’s main scientific agency said on Wednesday it believed with…